Former Houstonians determined to ride out Hurricane Florence

CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. – Dozens of members of one family with ties to Houston in Wilmington, North Carolina, have made the decision to ride out the storm together.

“I remember Rita,” Max Moreland said. “We’ll just hunker down and ride it out.”

Moreland attended A&M decades ago. An Aggie welcome mat sits in front of his daughter’s Wilmington home, where he is currently staying.

“My brother and mom are still in Houston,” Moreland’s daughter, Nicole Mattox, said. “So they’re going through what we went through during Harvey last year where we were constantly calling and texting and worrying about what they were having to do.”

Among other things, family members in Houston have suggested the Mattox family in Wilmington leave an ax near the attic, which they did.

They also stocked up on food and water, and their generator is ready to go.

In Carolina Beach, along the coast, the only bridge to the mainland is now shut down. Mandatory evacuation orders are now strictly in force.

The mayor said he fears as many as 1,000 of the more than 6,000 residents there refused to leave. They will be under a 24-hour curfew.

More than 10 million people along the coast are under Hurricane and storm watches or warnings in the Carolinas and Virginia. More than one million have been asked to leave.